Increasing output with new launches

Getting over sufficient ground to ensure appropriate timeliness is the key to a successful spraying programme. There is always huge pressure on sprayer operators caused by poor weather conditions, rapidly changing growth stages or climate-induced disease issues which pushes a sprayer to its limits.

Increasing productivity can help alleviate some of those pressures by investing in equipment that can offer more efficiency. Of course, there can always be the decision to extend the fleet with more sprayers, but this is not without its logistical problems. However, there are other ways of increasing output by, for instance, buying into faster turn-round times, increased tank size or, if practicable, by increasing boom width.

New wet system

With a vast amount of spraying time taken up by filling, improved outputs can be achieved by either slickening up the filling process or investing in a bigger tank. The new wet system on Amazone sprayers combines a state-of-the art, 60-litre induction bowl with a simple, intuitive operator station and control software. The induction bowl offers suction rates of 200-litres/min, meaning that getting chemical on-board is much faster, Amazone says. It also offers quicker, more powerful, cannister washing, multiple cannister handling, automated bowl washout on completion of the filling operation as well as working in conjunction with the water filling operation by putting automatic pauses into the water fill to match chemical filling with the overall fill process.

When it comes to a bigger tank, once in the field a greater area can be covered without needing to refill. Some tank size decisions are made on field size and travelling distances from the fill-up point. For mounted sprayers, the obvious choice is to go with a wrap-around front and back integrated combination. Having a very close-coupled, 2,000-litre nominal volume rear sprayer working in conjunction with a 1,500-litre nominal volume front tank that is filled, mixed, agitated, sprayed out and cleaned all together as one tank, means around 10ha more per fill. But the system puts no extra onus on the driver whatsoever. Visibility to the front is exemplary due to the optimised tank shape and the on-board cameras that give the driver a clear view at road junctions – and all this on a cost-effective, compact-sized tractor.

In the trailed sprayer world, then even 9,000 litres is possible on the one axle with the new UX 8601 Super or, if wanting to go bigger still, the 12,000-litre tandem-axle, double steering UX 11201 means, even at 150-litres/ha, over 75ha is possible from a single fill and with no more ground pressure than on a 4,200-litre tanked trailer. This reduction in axle weight is all down to the weight transfer system via the drawbar onto the tractor rear axle which aids traction as well as evening out the weight distribution.

Agritechnica launch

Agritechnica 2023 also saw the introduction of the new 7,000-litre, Pantera 7004 self-propelled, which adds another couple of thousand litres or more to the existing Pantera 4504 – and yet, through some clever engineering, barely increases the empty kerb weight or turning circle.

With boom widths of up to 30m on mounted sprayers and up to 48m on both trailed and self-propelled, then there is plenty of scope when looking to go wider. The plus point of increasing tramline width is that less wheelings means more acreage in crop – and so more income. Going from 24m to 36m, with two coulters blocked off each side on a 6m seed drill, gives an increased farmed area of around 1%.

However, increasing boom width is not without its pitfalls and the beauty of the Amazone sprayer boom programme is its flexibility, the manufacturer reckons. With nice large, square, telegraph pole-free fields being only a pipedream, the need for good contour following and the ability to fold one side of the boom fully in or out – independently of each other – in order to negotiate poles, etc. is a must.

ContourControl looks after the boom guidance above target with aplomb and, with up to five sections on each boom half, being able to control the folding of each one of these from the cab means that spraying up close to a pole isn’t a problem.

This also gives the ability to spray at a variety of boom widths where you’re looking to use the sprayer for different applications. For instance, the UF 2002 mounted sprayer with a 30m boom can be set to spray at 24m and 18m as well; the 36m Super-L3 boom on the Pantera self-propelled or UX 01 Super trailed can spray at 36–24–12m at the press of a button. Naturally, the nozzles are isolated automatically to match the working width, making going out contracting with the machine, or moving from crop to crop, an effortless operation.

So, if you are looking to increase your sprayer output, why not have a chat with a specialist at Amazone.

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